Tor'keem
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BASIC INFORMATION:
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Official Name in Standard: The Tor'keem
National Name: The Gathering of Free Tor'keem
Title of the Head of Government: Chancellor
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GEOGRAPHY/POPULATION
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Quadrant/Sector/System: Tor'kil System (Tor'kil)
Suns/Planets/Planetoids/Moons: One: Tor'kil Nova. Inhabited by
a group of Tor'keem who opted out of the 'Gathering'.
Population: 750 000 000
Capital City: The Great Planetary College
Race(s) of Native Sentients: 99% Tor'keem, 1% Transients and
invited observers
Largest Cities:
Go'lok 6 000 000
Torok'divor 4 000 000
Koris'ko 4 000 000
Vobril'okron 3 500 000
Rigth'toki 3 000 000
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ECONOMIC SUMMARY
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Tor'kil has never been known as a major focus of commerce within
the Federation; the Tor'keem prefer to organize, administrate,
and ponder the complexities of the universe rather than focus on
trade and industry.
The Tor'keem are renowned artists and writers; a number of
painters on Tor'kil have made a substantial living on the arts.
Similarly, the planet scrapes out a living in a variety of ores
for export, and a modest shipbuilding industry, providing custom
spacecraft for individuals and minor Federation powers.
In 2349, Tor'kil accepted the Federation Credit and the latinum
standard as acceptable currencies for business on Tor'kil
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GOVERNMENT/HISTORY
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Member of Federation? Yes.
The Tor'keem initially gathered around the equatorial Planetary
College as a means of exchanging ideas and information in a
peaceful envirionment, away from tribal intrigues and warfare;
along these lines, the Gathering is governed by a number of
'philosopher kings'.
To gain power on Tor'kil, an adult citizen applies for a place at
the college; open to all citizens, and subject to full public
subsidization. During the course of their tenure, the Tor'keem
are taught the sophisticated political sciences that their people
have developed; over time, as the college grants degrees and the
Tor'keem specialize their knowledge, they are given increasing
responsibilities to the maintenance of government. After two
years at the undergraduate level, a student is invited to sit in
the unicameral Tor'keem congress. Upon attaining an
undergraduate degree(typically a six-year program), the Tor'keem
may apply to work in a ministry portfolio; with the completion of
a graduate thesis, (another four year program)he or she may be
appointed by the Chancellor as a minister.
The Chancellor of the Tor'keem is elected by the student body,
from a list of candidates who have submitted and defended their
postgraduate thesis. Those unsuccessful in this election
generally retire to instruct the new generation of students
entering the college. The Chancellorship is awarded for a term
of six years; there are no term limits.
*****
Tor'keem history records the presence of an ancestral 'Empire of
Tok'ril' in their distant history, when the planet was still a
lush, heavily forested supercontinental mass. With the
appearance of an ice age four thousand years ago, the capitol
city and imperial palace were consumed by advancing glaciation;
the Empire fell into ruin and degenerated into a number of
nomadic tribes concentrating on the still-fertile areas of the
planet.
What followed were millenia of warfare and insurrection which
parallels Cardassian history almost to a t; the formidable
Tor'keem intellect was put to thwarting enemies in attempts to
seize control of a tribe, or to gain valuable grazing lands.
Resources and food were scarce, a condition only worsened by
continual skirmishes both within and outside of tribal affairs.
It wasn't until the arrival of Com'tokoran that the situation was
cast in any sort of hopeful light. Com'tokoran was a
philosopher, similar to the Terran Confucious, who saw a need for
the end of war and a reunification of the planet. He founded
both the college and the gathering, urging the Tor'keem to end
tribal alleigence and work together to rebuild Tor'keem society.
Com'tokoran soon had a strong following of would-be academics and
intelligentsia. The tribal leaders soon followed suit, realizing
that they were losing their best advisors and strategists to the
Gathering.
Only five tribes held out against Com'tokoran's influence,
deciding to continue their traditional intrigues and marauding.
Due to inferior numbers, they tended to leave the college and
its members alone; similarly, they were left unmolested unless
the warfare began to disrupt the pattern of college life. Six
hundred years ago, following a spacefaring revolution among the
Gathering, the remaining tribes were invited to settle the
Tor'kil moon. They accepted, and the two worlds have lived in
relative harmony (albeit they have little communication, and no
diplomatic relations) ever since.
First contact was made with the Federation in 2341, when a
three-man Tor'keem survey vessel sighted and successfully
contacted the USS DARWIN in the 65 Borin system. The Federation
admitted Tor'kils membership into the Federation in 2364, via the
220-7 majority vote of the Planetary College Congress.
Federation expeditions to Tor'kil Nova report that an alliance of
two Tor'keem tribes have virtually smashed all opposition, and
are on the verge of consolidating moonwide power. As a sovereign
political entity from Tor'kil, they are not considered Federation
members, and there have been fears that they may be planning a
conquest of their mother planet.
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RACE/SOCIETY/CULTURE
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Tor'kil is a large planet, roughly 1.4 Earth masses, affording
1.56 g. The climate is cold and arid; the northern temperate
regions are sheathed over in ice, and the warmer regions are
largely grassy steppeland, interspersed with some small forested
area, and a low mountainous region cutting a wide swath through
the steppe. Most of the major urban settlements are built over
the steppes; although a number of smaller communities have
cropped up on the edges of the ice caps. The planet is not
particularly geologically active; the two major tectonic plates
that have formed the land area on Tor'kil collided roughly 1.3
million years ago, and have been slowly pushing up mountains ever
since.
The pachydermoid Tor'keem appear to be the only sentient life in
the relatively simplistic ecosystem; strict vegetarians who graze
on the long steppeland grasses. These quadrapeds can grow to a
height of 194 cm, although heights of 180-185 are much more
common. Average weight among the adults runs between 290-360 kg.
Possessing no arms per se, the major prehensile appendage is
their trunk, which has five muscular extensions which function
much like fingers; and an opposable "thumb". The muscular
control in this area is extremely well-developed. The males also
have tusks, which are capable of growing to a length of 45 cm.
However, with the advent of civilization on Tor'kil, it became
customary to grind these bone extensions down, and today it is
rare to see a Tor'keem male with more an 3 cm tusk.
The body is covered in thick, shaggy hair,which varies between
individuals from mustard yellow to auburn to a 'salt and pepper'
black and white dappling. While providing the illusion of
warmth, the hair is a leftover from Tor'kils tropical ancestry,
which served to cool the beast by keeping a constant airflow over
the skin. In fact, on the now cool Tor'keem homeworld, clothing
in the form of 'capes' made of small, furry animals are quite
common. Starfleet has designed special uniforms for its Tor'keem
officers, consisting of a loose-fitting cloth band which winds
around the midsection; a thick band of service colour flanked by
two narrow strips of black. The badge/communicator is worn close
to the left shoulder, in easy reach and reception range.
Another common misconception is that the Tor'keem are related to
Terran mammals; it would appear that they are more bird-like.
The females lay eggs in low, grassy nests which are guarded by
the Gathering as a whole during the birthing season. Litters
rarely produce more than two infants, which are taught grazing
and social techniques by their parents before being left to fend
for themselves (once a savage practise, now essentially means
finding a job or applying for the college) at the age of 6.
Tor'keem lifespans generally last roughly 50 to 60 years.
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Creator/Adaptor e-mail address
James Braun zambor@geocities.com
Created for/First Use:
SKC Vog'Rithi Storekeeper--USS CORONA
NCC-2002
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